They say that everybody is playing for time during this financial crisis, and certainly the market has appeared to do exactly that today. The FTSE 100 has closed down just 0.5% - or 28.9 points - at 5723, while the FTSE 250 is up 11.46 points at 10748.39 - all of which feels a bit like travelling up to Grimsby and sitting through a goalless draw at Blundell Park on a windy February evening.

There has not been much more action in New York yet either - although that may all change once Fed chairman Ben Bernanke starts his turn. City traders making their way to their favoured wine bars have left colleagues on Wall Street looking at the Dow which is down 0.44% at 12620.